Enduring wisdom
CUHK appoints three honorary fellows
16 July 2025
On 30 June, three distinguished individuals, Professor Ching Pak-chung, Professor the Hon Priscilla Leung Mei-fun and Professor Anthony Wu Ting-yuk, were appointed as honorary fellows, in recognition of their contributions to CUHK and the community at large. Council Chairman Professor John Chai Yat-Chiu and Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Dennis Lo Yuk-ming presided over the presentation ceremony at the Lee Hysan Concert Hall.
Coming from varied walks of life, the honorary fellows have spent decades making their mark on society while also playing pivotal roles in contributing to the University’s growth. Professor David Huddart, Professor Thomas Lee Hun-tak and Professor Ho Che-wah presented citations for the three honorands, reminding attendees of their accomplishments.
Professor Ching, a leading expert in digital signal processing and artificial intelligence, is the Director of the Shun Hing Institute of Advanced Engineering and Research Professor in the Department of Electronic Engineering at CUHK. His early experience at Cable & Wireless sparked his passion for the field, inspiring him to research digital signal processing, particularly speech and communication systems.
Professor Ching joined CUHK in 1984. Over the years, the eminent engineer has held several key leadership positions at the University, including Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Vice President, Head of Shaw College and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering. During his tenure as Pro-Vice-Chancellor, he spearheaded the Campus Master Plan in response to the transition to a four-year curriculum. He has also held pivotal positions in various government and professional bodies, making significant contributions to the community by forging the future of communication technology.
Professor Wu, an Honorary Professor in CUHK’s Faculty of Medicine, made history as the first Chinese person to serve on the Ernst & Young Global Executive Board, following his role as Chairman of Ernst & Young Far East. His expertise helped countless mainland Chinese enterprises to list on Hong Kong and overseas stock exchanges, pioneering the H-share and red-chip markets.
Beyond finance and accounting, Professor Wu has transformed Hong Kong’s healthcare landscape. During his tenure as Chairman of the Hospital Authority from 2004 to 2013, he revitalised its financial and administrative systems, and responded to crises including avian flu and swine flu. He promoted the development of traditional Chinese medicine and facilitated healthcare collaboration between Hong Kong and mainland China. In addition to advancing the city’s healthcare development, Professor Wu also contributed to the community by supporting children with cancer and their families as the patron of the Little Life Warrior Society, and founded the Hainan Sunshine Baby Foundation to aid underprivileged people with thalassemia. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, he collaborated with China’s National Health Commission and BGI Group to enhance testing capacity and reduce costs, facilitating joint pandemic control efforts between the central and Hong Kong governments.
Professor Leung, an alumna of CUHK, was honoured for her continuing efforts in conducting extensive research on the mainland’s legal system. She initiated the monumental project of translating select court judgements from Chinese into English, helping the world understand the Basic Law and the principle of “One Country, Two Systems”, as well as China’s judicial system and the progress of its legal reform.
In 2000, Professor Leung was honoured with the Ten Outstanding Young Persons Award. In 2008, she was elected to the Legislative Council to represent the Kowloon West constituency and, since 2018, she has been a member of the Hong Kong Basic Law Committee of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee. This March, she was invited to return to her alma mater to deliver a lecture titled “The Rule of Law under ‘One Country, Two Systems’”, as part of the General Education China Programme. During the talk, she shared her personal journey and encouraged students to strive for their dreams.
After the three honorands had received their honorary fellowships, Professor Leung gave a speech on their behalf. “The Chinese University of Hong Kong did not only impart me knowledge but also the opportunities to find out how much potential I could reach when I decided to pursue my dream,” she said. She also talked about her decision to take the road less travelled – crossing the border to pursue her master’s and doctoral degrees in Beijing. That decision laid the foundation for her subsequent role in helping to build the rule of law in China. “It is always my motto that ‘the earth had no roads to begin with, but when many people pass one way, a road is made’,” she said.
By Gillian Cheng
